Electric air conditioning apparatus for brooders



Jan. 13, 1942. J. E. KRESKY 2,269,673

ELECTRIC AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS FOR BROODERS Filed March 4, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet l 3)! INVENTOR.

64w gig/W.

ATTORNEY Jan. 13, 1942. J KREsKY 2,269,673

ELECTRIC AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS FOR BROODERS Filed March 4, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 2 mmvm. w "14% n 81 4/ w. KW

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC AIRCONDITIONING APPARATUS FOR BROODERS Jesse E. Kresky, Petaluma, Calif.

Application March 4, 1941, Serial No. 381,645

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an electrically controlled air-conditioningheating and ventilating device for use particularly with chickenbrooders.

The use of hovers or enclosures in which young chicks may be raised, iswell known in the art. However, due to improper and inadequate methodsof heating and ventilation, mortality is higher than it should be amongsuch chicks from variousdiseases, particularly of a pulmonary character.

In the brooders or hovers heretofore in use it has been found that avery rapid and uneven horizontal temperature gradient has existedbetween the. heating member and the outer portions of a brooder. Hencethe chicks tended to huddle together in a mass around the heating unit,smothering some, and causing those in the center to sweat, take cold,and become prey to roup, bronchitis, tuberculosis, and similarcomplaintswhich have caused serious losses to poultrymen.

Especially is this so in those types or" brooders which permit entranceof cold air around the edges. Usually the heat is turned on and off at.intervals manually, and the chicks are subjected to alternate periods ofexcessive cold and heat. Under "such. conditions the droppings tend toaccumulate, forming. a wet, soggy footing, and the atmosphere becomesfoul and inimical to the health of the chicks.

By my invention filthy, insanitary, damp or wet unventilated conditionsunder the hover have been eliminated, and replaced by heolthfulconditions with. a positive flow of dry, warm, automatically conditionedfresh air for ventilation. This fresh air is diffused from the center ofthe brooder and passed through the flock of chicks, flowing over thefloor to give dry, sanitary conditions, and is finally exhausted underthe brooder curtains. into the brooder room to be ventilated away. Theseadvantages are obtained by providing suitable means whereby a continuousflow through the brooder is obtained of controllable amounts of freshair, the incoming air being held closely to the optimum temperaturedesired which in my brooder is approximately 83 F. as against higherenervating temperatures heretofore commonly necessary; the air beingdistributed evenly to all parts of the enclosure under a positivepressure which prevents cold air from entering peripherally. This evendistribution of warm air enables operation at a temperature from 5 to 8F. lower than the previously permissible average and removes the causeof huddling, with its resultant sweatings, colds, and smotherings. Thestructure also en: sures rapid evaporation of the droppings and a dryfooting for the chicks. My invention has been designed to achieve theseresults with a substantial saving in operation costs over the previouslyknown types.

These result-s are obtained, in brief, by an automatically controlledheating unit which draws a column of fresh air into the brooder, warmsit, directs it evenly throughout the hover, and expels it under positivepressure.

The objects of my invention thus include: providing a positive flow offresh, warm air into and through a brooder, and drying and heating theair and thereby removing excess humidity; preventing the influx of cold,unheated air; eliminating excessive dampness; relieving unsanitarybrooder conditions and reducing the bacterial count in the brooder air;preventing crowding and packing together of chicks; correctingconditions causing chicks to sweat, take cold, and become subject toother pulmonary complaints such as roup, bronchitis and tuberculosis;making it possible to raise chicks at an average temperature rangingfrom 5 to 8 F. below that necessary with other known types of brooders;providing a more economical device for housing chicks; and in general,reducing mortality and insuring better health and greater subsequentlaying capacity in brooder-raised chicks or other fowls.

These and other objects which will occur to those skilled in the art areobtained by my invention, a preferred embodiment of which is illustratedin the appended drawings.

The structure shown is exemplary of my invention, but it will beunderstood that I may make variations in the details of constructionwithin the scope of the claims. It will also be obvious that theinvention is not limited to; chicken brookers, but may be used with allvarieties of domestic fowls, or with any other small creatures requiringclean, dry quarters and a continuous supply of fresh, properlyconditioned air.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a chicken brooder,showing my device installed therein;

Fig. 2 is a side view, partially in section, of my aid conditioning,heating, and ventilating unit;

Fig. 3 is a perspective of an air spreading or deflecting element,removed from the unit shown in Fig. 2;

I have described my air conditioning, heating and ventilating unit inconnection with a preferred form of brooder or hover, but it will beseen from the description following that the form of the hover itselfmay be varied within wide limits, and the structure shown is exemplaryonly of the features necessary to successful use of my invention.

In Fig. 1, I have shown my invention, comprising the air conditioning,heating and ventilating device, which may be referred to hereafterbriefly as the unit A, installed in a brooder or hover 2, usually housedin a suitable building. The hover may be of any conventional type and ishere shown as comprising a top portion 4 with dependent curtains 6coming to within an inch or so of the floor 1; the curtains beingusually slitted as at 9 and notched as at H], to allow ready ingress andegress of the chicks and provided for ventilation.

My invention proper is concerned more especialiy withthe airconditioning, heating and ventilating unit A, which draws in fresh airfrom the space outside hover 2 through either an intake member II and atunnel l2, or directly through a bottom opening 31' as shown in Fig. 6,or through both the tunnel and an opening as 3"! in Fig. 2, as will bemore fully described later.

The incoming air is thus brought into proximity with the heating coil84, heated, dried, conditioned and then distributed uniformly throughoutthe brooder enclosure by means of an air spreading member or deflectorl5 and the force of the air currents generated in the apparatus.

The flow of current through coil [4 is controlled by a switch I!actuated by a thermostat generally represented at I9 situated in thehover a short distance from the heating coil l4, in response to thechanges in temperature of the air circulating throughout the enclosedspace. The cooled, used air sinks toward the floor 7 and is forced outof the hover by the positive pressure of the air current drawn into andrising through the heater or stove surrounding the coil [4. This air isat a temperature sufficient to dry the droppings, remove excess humidityand in sure a warm, dry floor through the hover, thus maintainingsanitary conditions for the chicks.

The entire unit A, apart from the thermostat l9 and the electricalcomponents, is susceptible of economical construction from galvanizedsheet steel, or any equivalent sheet material which is corrosionresistant, easily cleaned, and readily fabricated. The heater 2! ispreferably an opentopped enclosure of suitable cross section incontinuation of the air trunk or tunnel l2. The heater or stoveenclosing the coil 14 comprises an outer housing or shell of suitablesize and cross section, here shown as rectangular. The interior of shell20 is divided by a vertical partition 21 into two vertical coaxial fines2223. The bulk of the air that passes upward from the air chamber 24comes into close contact with the heating coil 14 and passes out at thetop through the upper open end of the circular partition 2| and the hole25 in top cover plate 26. The outer air current passes upward throughthe duct or flue 23, acting as an air jacket and is warmed, and thendirected radially inward by the top horizontal plate 26 to pass directlyover the heating coil l4 to have its temperature suddenly raised and tobe commingled with the hotter air current arising through flue 22. Theconjoined air currents then escape through the opening 25; the heatedair then being distributed horizontally into the brooder by the cowlmember l5, Fig. 3.

The heating coil I4 is of well known construction, mounted in usualmanner on a bracket 28 and connected to the leads 29-30; thethermostatic switch I 7 being interposed in lead 29. 3! is a transversebafiie plate which has an opening 32 coincident with the open bottom ofthe vertical partition 2| so that the air has ready upward ingress toand through flue 22. Plate 3|, however, acts to close the entry of airto the outer duct 23 except for the cut-away corner opening 32 throughwhich a limited amount of air from chamber 24 may pass to the air jacketduct 23.

The air tunnel I2 is a low, rectangular enclosure fixed to the heaterhousing 20, opening into air chamber 24 and having sufficient length toextend beyond the enclosure of hover 2 when the heater is locatedcentrally therein. Tunnel I2 is also open on the bottom, with aninturned bottom edge 33, acting as a guide for movable bottom slide 34.

The slide 34 is somewhat longer than the combined lengths of tunnel l2and heater 20. When the slide is pushed clear into place it forms thebottom of the air chamber 24 below the coil. Slide 34 is freely movablelongitudinally of the tunnel l2, and since it is of greater length thanthe tunnel and the heating chamber, it may be easily manipulated fromits exposed end 36. The object of this manipulation is to permit it tobe opened or closed, damper fashion, to uncover or cover more or less anopening 37 in the bottom of the air chamber 24.

This bottom opening 31 to the air chamber allows control of the amountof outside air drawn into the hover, and permits re-circulation of aportion of the air therein. It also permits, as shown in Fig. 6, ofdoing away entirely with the air trunk l2 by cutting a hole 3'! in thefloor and taking air directly from the outside through the floor andthrough the port 37' into the air chamber 24 below the coil.

Again, under certain conditions such as, forexample, when the brooder isfirst put into use on a cold day, it may be desirable to increase therate at which it warms. To attain this end, the

outside fresh air inlet may be partially closed and the bottom aperture3! opened to reduce the negative pressure at the inlet, and the airwithin the brooder circulated continuously through the heater until thedesired temperature is obtained. In other cases, it may prove desirableto increase the amount of fresh air drawn in beyond the minimum amount,varying the suction by varying the width of bottom aperture 31. Anydesired proportion of air through these points of entry may be securedby proper adjustment of the bottom slide 34.

The air duct 22 constitutes the main heating chamber while the outer airpassage 23 acts as an insulating medium or air jacket interposing acooler layer of air between the directly heated partition 2| and thesurrounding shell or wall of the heater so that a high percentage of theheat is distributed by the convection currents of air, and a smallpercentage by direct radiation from the heating chamber. This air jacketsafeguards against overheating and insures that the thgrmostat [9 shallrespond only to the temperature of the circulating air, minimizing theeffect thereon of direct radiation from heating coil l4.

As above stated, the two air currents, the one passing upward inside ofpartition 2| and the other outside thereof, are joined at the top of theheater, the outer cooler current through passageway 23 being sweptinwardly by the top plate 26 and over the heating unit I4 to becomeheated and conditioned before the two air streams united into one, arereleased into the hover.

As the current descends, a portion of it impinges on the thermostat I9,which is set to maintain a desired temperature. I have found thecommercially available Sylphon bellows, or expansible sealed diaphragmchambers of thin corrugated metal about three inches in diameter to bequite satisfactory for this use. While any sensitive thermostaticcontrol might be used, the wide area of the Sylphon bellows makes themmore responsive to average temperatures existing throughout the fallingair current than a more concentrated device would be.

The thermostat I9 is supported by a bracket 5| extending from housing 20and is a commercially obtainable device forming no part of the presentinvention. Briefly, it includes a V-shaped mounting frame 40, carryingon one arm an enclosed switch I1 and on the other arm Sylphon typebellows 4|. Switch I1 is normally closed,

and the bellows 4| are arranged to open it by pressure against aresiliently positioned, protruding ball 42. The bellows are attached toframe 40 by a threaded rod 43, engaging the upper mounting frame arm 44.The cut-off temperature is varied by turning a thumb nut 45 on rod 43 tochange the spacing of the bellows 4! relative to ball 42.

Suitable leads connect coil 14 and switch 11 in series to a currentsource. As long as the current is provided and the temperature does notexceed the pre-set value, coil l4 will continue to glow. When thepre-set value of temperature is exceeded, the bellows 4| expand,pressing against the ball 42 and opening the switch ll. When the aircools the bellows contract, allowing the switch to close and repeatingthe cycle as long as current is supplied. As shown in Fig. 2, the trunkleads are led along the tunnel I2 to pass through an insulating bushing41, preferably outside'the hover 2.

In Fig. 6 a conduit 48 houses and protects the leads to any suitablepoint of entry.

By this system the average temperature may be held at all times within arange of a single degree.

Another important feature of the invention is the fact that the pressureand volume of the air currents are automatically controlled by thearrangement of the heating unit and air ducts and air-distributingmeans.

Also, practice shows that when the heater is shut down there is no aircirculation through the heater to cause cold drafts.

In summary, my structure, as shown by actual commercial practice,operates to sweep the brooder continuously free of all foul air; to drythe droppings; and to produce an outgoing force which passes under thehover curtains to stop any cold, damp air from entering under thecurtains to chill the outside chicks, thereby causing, in turn, crowdingand packing against the chicks nearer the center of the hover, causingthem to sweat, with devitalizing results.

This invention permits the poultryman to keep his chicks in a sanitaryconditioned atmosphere, with dry footing and a continuous supply offresh air warmed to exactly the right temperature and distributed evenlythroughout the hover. Chicks raised in this fashion are stronger,healthier, and less susceptible to pulmonary complaints, whilemortality, due to crowding together in a mass for warmth, iseliminated.- Even temperature distribution permits a lowering of theaverage temperature substantially beneath that of previously knownbrooders, with an attendant increase in the hardiness of the chicksafter leaving the brooder. These desirable results are achieved withsubstantial economies in heating costs, and, in general, afford asubstantial contribution to the chicken raising industry.

What I claim is:

1. An air-conditioning unit for a brooder comprising a housing, anadjustable fresh air intake operated solely by thermal currentscommunicating with said housing, two vertical air ducts connected withthe intake of said housing, a. heating element in one of said ducts, theother of said air ducts constituting an air jacket, an apertured baffleplate above the two ducts whereby the two air currents are united abovethe heating element and permitted to escape, and atemperature-responsive control means for maintaining a substantiallyuniform temperature.

2. A device for conditioning and circulating by thermal means only airin a brooder comprising an adjustable fresh air intake extending beyondsaid brooder, two vertically disposed chambers mounted about a commonaxis, an electric heater in the inner of said chambers, a peripherallyapertured ballle plate extending across the bottom of said chambers todivide upward air currents between said chambers, a baffle arranged oversaid chambers to recombine said upward air currents, an insulateddeflecting plate arranged to direct said recombined currentshorizontally outward, and thermostatic switch means secured externallyto said chambers to control current through said heater.

JESSE E. KRESKY.

